Maria Luisa Gambale, Author at PassBlue

Striking a Better Balance in the Newest UN Peacekeeping Reforms

October 11, 2018October 4, 2018 by Maria Luisa Gambale

Just days before the United Nations held a meeting with heads of state and foreign ministers on Secretary-General António Guterres’s Action for Peacekeeping initiative, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2436 on peace operations, on Sept. 21. Drafted by the United States, the resolution is the result of collaboration between Council members and other … Read more

NIKKI HALEY WATCH

The UN’s Report on Poverty in the US Is Rebuked by Nikki Haley

July 9, 2018June 28, 2018 by Maria Luisa Gambale

When Philip Alston decided to focus a report on the United States, in his role as the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, the goal was to spur a larger discussion. However, in the past week there has been a slow-motion volley of criticisms instead, as Nikki Haley, the US ambassador … Read more

GEOPOLITICS

At the UN, a New Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Is Adopted by 122 Nations

July 19, 2017July 7, 2017 by Maria Luisa Gambale

Nuclear buildup and threat of nuclear war became a front-page item this past week, after Kim Jong Un’s declaration of a successful intercontinental ballistic missile test, confirmed on July 4 by United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Such headlines — proclaimed on America’s Independence Day — remind the public of the ever-present specter of … Read more

How Syrian Women Landed at the UN Peace Talks and What It All Means

July 26, 2016May 10, 2016 by Maria Luisa Gambale

Some members of the UN-led Women's Advisory Board

GENEVA — Like approaching a mirage, in early 2016 Syrian women have made significant steps closer to the central negotiating tables of the extremely fragile intra-Syrian peace talks. It’s a process that Syrian women and the United Nations have been building since mid-2013. And in the Geneva III peace negotiations — structured so far as proximity … Read more

In Italy, a Patchwork of Services for Migrants Arriving at Its Shores [Video]

September 23, 2015August 5, 2015 by Maria Luisa Gambale

ROME — Italy is a slender peninsula ringed by 4,722 miles of coastline, a blessing that brings thousands of Italians to the sea each August for Ferragosto, the country’s summer vacation period. The coastline — one of the longest in the world — has also been attracting boats full of refugees and migrants, in numbers … Read more

WORLDVIEWS

The Heart of Sarajevo Is Back

February 12, 2015December 28, 2014 by Maria Luisa Gambale

During a trip to Sarajevo in April, my first visit to the city, I was in the middle of Rebecca West’s long, erudite, poetic travel memoir about the Balkans, written in the late 1930s but covering hundreds of years of history in the region. For her, and for me reading it, Sarajevo was where the … Read more

Syrian Women Working for Peace and Political Action

November 11, 2014October 21, 2014 by Maria Luisa Gambale

GAZIANTEP, Turkey — Syrian women filled the conference room and lobby of a hotel in this border city for one week in late August this year. They were the focus of a “Space for Collaboration” workshop, providing networking and training to women working on political solutions to the Syrian civil war. A majority of the … Read more

What Good Can a Film Do?

July 15, 2014June 30, 2014 by Maria Luisa Gambale

ISTANBUL — In 2013, Daniela Kon founded the Social Impact Media Awards to give a boost to a certain kind of documentary film. Documentaries don’t usually make a lot of money. Except for a few lucky theatrical or television releases each year that manage to do more than break even, most documentary films are largely … Read more

The Divided Life of Cyprus

May 21, 2014April 15, 2014 by Maria Luisa Gambale

The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus marked its 50th anniversary in March. The mission, which supervises cease-fire lines and maintains a buffer zone, has involved 32 countries that have contributed troops and police, among whom 184 peacekeepers have died. About 850 troops and 60 police officers make up the mission now, operating currently … Read more